


Music To His Ears

by Jedi Buttercup (jedibuttercup)



Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV), Eli Stone (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Crossover, Gen, Post-Chosen, Wordcount: 500-1.000
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2008-02-17
Updated: 2008-02-17
Packaged: 2018-08-10 17:06:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 600
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7853719
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jedibuttercup/pseuds/Jedi%20Buttercup
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>An independent oracle outside of the Slayer tradition would be worth whatever the Council need do to court his cooperation.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Music To His Ears

**Author's Note:**

> Another story that apparently fell through the cracks when I started posting here! I only watched the first few episodes of Eli Stone before my embarrassment squick got the better of me; but Jonny Lee Miller, so I wrote a few crossover drabbles before letting go.

Giles frowned at the support request form on his desk, then paged Andrew. "Has Buffy been reshuffling the duty rotation again without informing me?"

Andrew snorted. "If this is about the San Francisco thing, it's from one of those independent contacts we've had trouble getting in touch with since the First blew up headquarters. Name of Dr. Chen?"

"Dr. Chen?" Giles frowned, trying to associate the name with a face. Only one came to mind: a middle-aged Asian-American, though he was certain Chen was an alias. "Masquerades as an acupuncturist?"

"I guess. He said something about a stone prophet?"

Giles' eyebrows went up. Chen himself might be questionable, but the contact was highly welcome. The Watchers' Council had tracked a family surnamed Stone for centuries; they had an unusually consistent track record of producing prophets, some more useful than others but all astonishingly accurate. The last one had wanted nothing to do with them; but he'd had two sons, Eli and Nathan-- and had lived in San Francisco.

Hopefully, whichever had inherited the gift would be more amenable than his father. An independent oracle outside of the Slayer tradition would be worth whatever they need do to court his cooperation.

* * *

"I'm going to ask you once," Jordan said, intently, "and if I find out you're lying to me, it will forever alter our relationship. Is there something really wrong with you?" 

Eli stared back at his boss of eight years and opened his mouth-- then closed it again, torn between the answer he wanted to give and the one he knew he should. 

Private Swain's son-- and Eli himself, once-- had lied to protect their families. But who would Eli's current lie protect? Eventually, his visions would have effects too obvious to excuse or ignore. Could he really put that kind of burden on Taylor-- and his brother, who had already falsified a clean bill of health for him? No matter how much they loved him, they deserved better than the kind of pain Eli's similarly "gifted" father had inflicted on everyone around him.

He took a deep breath and looked the man he'd hoped to call father-in-law in the eye. "Yes," he said. "I'm sorry."

So maybe he'd have to give up his career and his favorite, expensive toys. If this prophet thing was serious, something else would come along-- and in the meantime, he'd only be endangering himself.

* * *

"So you're the prophet," the teenager greeted him skeptically, eyeing his suit and briefcase. "You look more like a lawyer. Favorite outfit or something?"

"Or something," Eli replied, with a crooked smile. "I used to _be_ a lawyer, actually. And you would be-- Miss Summers?" Dr. Chen had told him The Slayer was _young_ , but this was ridiculous. She looked like she belonged in high school, not involved with whatever it was Eli's visions had dragged him into now.

She smirked at him, a disconcertingly wicked expression for someone with such large, innocent-looking blue eyes. "Yep, but not the one you're looking for," she said, and then yelled back into the apartment. "BUFFY! HE'S HERE!"

His relief at the answer died almost before he had a chance to feel it, cut off by that ridiculous name-- and the blonde, fashionably dressed twenty-something who appeared at her sister's call. But then he looked into her eyes, and his incredulity fell away.

His heart clenched. He didn't know how-- or even how he knew-- but this was someone who _understood_. Great gifts came with great costs, and this young woman--

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Eli said, and meant every word.


End file.
